Carrying bikes on your car

If you strapped the wheel or bike awkwardly it could have buckled the wheel as you drove. They do hop around a bit so you need to be careful how they're strapped on.

I have a tow bar rack and I think it's the business - so easy to just stick it on and pop the bike(s) on it.

I've never had the bikes on the roof - someone once told me water and dirt can get into places it normally wouldn't if you're driving on the motorway. Not sure how true that is but it always put me off. The tow bar rack is probably the same, but the car itself may offer some protection.

Personally I stay away from Halfords - pretty much any bike shop will give better advice, even if it means paying a little extra.

I’ve always used fork mount roof carriers and never had an issue.
Changed the car last year and got a pair of aero alloy roof bars and 2x Thule 561 for approx €300 . Won’t suit all bike types though but a lot cheaper than fitting a tow bar and buying a tow bar mounted rack , unless of course you were fitting the tow bar regardless.

Another vote for the Thule Outride 561 fork mount roof rack. Very solid and easy to use.

I got mine off eBay; if you're patient you may find one locally.

For the roof bars, do some research and know what model you need, then you should be able to get them from Mick's Garage or eBay. We got a new car 4 yrs ago, so I budgeted in factory roof bars in the purchase. (Apparently Thule makes the racks for Renault, so it all worked out well in my case.)

Had one on a previous car but too expensive to put on my insight,mine went straight on,2 minutes - wheels all secure - off u go ,if near Cork Billy Murray's your man, Bishoptown,across from the cit

duffyshuffle wrote: »

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

Another vote for the Thule Outride 561 fork mount roof rack. Very solid and easy to use.

I got mine off eBay; if you're patient you may find one locally.

For the roof bars, do some research and know what model you need, then you should be able to get them from Mick's Garage or eBay. We got a new car 4 yrs ago, so I budgeted in factory roof bars in the purchase. (Apparently Thule makes the racks for Renault, so it all worked out well in my case.)

Thanks - for fork mount, i've got disc brakes - do I need to get mounts specific to those for a thru axle or are yours adjustable or compatible for both? Haven't seen the fork mount in use before so may be a stupid question!

Thule was the make of the tow bar attachment aswell,do whatever you choose Thule is quality

Is it not a pain in the hole getting your bike up onto the roof? Granted if you've a light racer, but I have a chunky hybrid with kids seats which I would like to bring on holidays - it would be a massive pain getting that onto a roof?

My brother had a bar one which kind of folded away. It also swiveled down to allow you to open the boot. Probably more expensive but less hassle. Although it only takes 2 bikes and I'm fast approaching a place where I might want more.

duffyshuffle wrote: »

Going to buy either a towbar or roof rack - have a Volvo V50 with roof rails but no roof rack yet, and don't have a towbar (not a good start here!) - so what are peoples preferences/suggestions for either choice? And suggested racks etc...

Perhaps factor in how convenient each option is and how often you would use it.
I've the v50 also and went with the towbar and thule option over two years ago.

Previously I'd been using one of those halford frames bike racks that you attach to the car with straps all over the place. I found it stressful driving with them as you often had half an eye on the back to make sure they were still connected. Usually I would arrive to find at least one of the hooks and straps had come loose.

The towbar cost me 300 and another 100 for the thule. Putting on the bikes and taking them off takes no more than a couple of minutes vs maybe 10 minutes or more with the halford's bike rack. I don't know how long it takes with the roof rack but that time saving is great especially when you're already late for the group ride.

I've a V60 and bought the G3 roof rack from Mick's garage last year. it's aero style bars with lock mechanism for the volvo roof rails.
They were 70 euro when I bought them and frankly knock the arse out of the Thule ones for weight and value . I've had 2 sets of Thule in the past for BMWs.

Check Mick's garage out

fryup wrote: »

anyone ever hit a low lying barrier whilst carrying bikes on the roof?

No.

But you should know your roof height with them on.

CramCycle wrote: »

My electrics were faulty, so I removed the socket. Tester said if the socket wasn't there it would be a visual retest and I'd pass. Different tester came out and said if the bar was there, the electrics had to be(after he went in and double checked). It only took another 5 minutes to remove but I guess it's so new, they are not certain on the specifics yet.

I am tempted to put it back on as I have an aldi tow bar mount but haven't been arsed.

Interesting, I just bought a car with a towbar, must check the electrics.

Also bought an Aldi towbar rack, more stable than the straps and good setup is been using

cletus wrote: »

Interesting, I just bought a car with a towbar, must check the electrics.

Also bought an Aldi towbar rack, more stable than the straps and good setup is been using

I assume the Aldi towbar racks were available previously? I cant find them available on the website now...

I've gone to France the last couple of years with 4 bikes on the towbar and one on the roof. Towbar is expensive enough but I got the bike racks from Adverts. The (Halfords) towbar rack doesn't tilt so you can't open the boot when the bikes are on it, but I can get to the boot through the back seats so not a big deal. Bikehire x 5 is expensive enough so it paid for itself after a couple of trips and it means we can take the bikes around Ireland to greenways etc as well.

Thule sell a frame protector for carbon. I've only ended up using my thule roof mount with aluminium so far.

loyatemu wrote: »

Bikehire x 5 is expensive enough so it paid for itself after a couple of trips and it means we can take the bikes around Ireland to greenways etc as well.

I'm revisiting this now (must have been a different thread pre family holiday), as the day with the hire bikes worked great, but a couple of weeks worth of hire (not to mention the potential charge back) changes the maths for me. I've started pricing around for the towbar.

I also priced a high thule rear rack for my van/ mpv, like you see on campervans, so that the bikes are above the lights and reg plate. By the time you add the fitting kit, the 3rd and 4th bars, it's pushing over the initial quotes for the towbar!

I did see a car in France on the motorway, and they used a "normal" rear rack, with a number plate board, and had removed the bike wheels, which I hadn't thought of before (for using in countries that are actually arsed about traffic law enforcement).

Macy0161 wrote: »

I did see a car in France on the motorway, and they used a "normal" rear rack, with a number plate board, and had removed the bike wheels, which I hadn't thought of before (for using in countries that are actually arsed about traffic law enforcement).

Prior to having a towbar, I used a strap-on rack with a number plate board. This plugged in to the towing electric socket that I fitted to the car myself so I had road-legal rear lights for continental* driving.



* And optionally for irish driving...

how tall is your car - I'd really struggle to put bikes onto the middle of my car roof (car is an MPV)

Looking at getting a couple of Thule ProRide 598s but have a query for anyone that has them. They would be used primarily to transport road bikes which all have 2 bottle cages - do the cages get in the way of effective clamping of the bar?
Just looks like the optimum position for the bar is right where the downtube bottle cage sits. Also, in one video I saw on YouTube, when the guy released the spring-loaded clamp, it looked like it struck the underside of the seat tube-mounted bottle cage which is less than ideal.

I'd recommend getting straps and using them to secure the frame as well as the clamp. This is the voice of experience - I had a clamp pop open @ 120km/h on the motorway in France. The wheel straps held so the bike swung down from the roof and whacked into the side of the car. Scared the living sh!te out of everyone and I then had to crawl out of the door to re-secure the bike while standing in the hard shoulder. Not fun.